Dougherty County is located in the southwestern portion of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 85,790. The

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

and sole incorporated city is Albany. Dougherty County is included in the Albany, GA metropolitan statistical area. Historically dominated by cotton plantation agriculture in the nineteenth century, it is part of the Black Belt of the South.

History

The county was created by the

Georgia General Assembly The Georgia General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is bicameral, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Each of the General Assembly's 236 members serve two-year terms and are directl ...

on December 15, 1853, from a part of Baker County. It was named after Charles Dougherty, a respected judge and lawyer from

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

. In 1854 and 1856 small areas were added from Worth County. As noted above, the county was developed by European Americans using enslaved African Americans as workers for the production of cotton as a commodity crop. Its county seat of

Albany, Georgia Albany ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Located on the Flint River, it is the county seat of Dougherty County, Georgia, Dougherty County, and is the sole incorporated city in that county. Located in Southwest Geo ...

is located on the

Flint River The Flint River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 15, 2011 river in the U.S. state of Georgia. The river drains of western Georgia, flowing south from th ...

, which was originally the chief means of transportation for shipped products. Albany was later served by seven railroad lines, adding to its significance as a market center. The city was a center of the Civil Rights Movement, particularly during the early 1960s.

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.8%) is water. The majority of Dougherty County is located in the Lower

sub-basin of the

ACF River Basin The Apalachicola–Chattahoochee–Flint River Basin (the ACF River Basin) is the drainage basin, or watershed, of the Apalachicola River, Chattahoochee River, and Flint River, in the Southeastern United States. This area is alternatively know ...

(Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin). The northeastern corner of the county, northeast of Albany, is located in the Middle Flint River sub-basin of the same ACF River basin. A very small portion of Dougherty County, north of Albany, is located in the Kinchafoonee- Muckalee sub-basin of the larger ACF River Basin. The remaining western portion of the county is located in the

Ichawaynochaway Creek Ichawaynochaway Creek is a creek in southwest Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People ...

sub-basin of the same ACF River Basin.

Major highways

U.S. Route 19 U.S. Route 19 or U.S. Highway 19 (US 19) is a north–south United States Numbered Highway in the Eastern United States. Despite encroaching Interstate Highways, the route has remained a long-haul road, connecting the Gulf of Mex ...

U.S. Route 19 Business * US 82

U.S. Route 82 U.S. Route 82 (US 82) is an east–west United States highway in the Southern United States. Created on July 1, 1931 across central Mississippi and southern Arkansas, US 82 eventually became a route extending from the White Sands of New ...

U.S. Route 82 Business * Georgia 3

State Route 3 The following highways are numbered 3, H-3, PRI-3, AH3, E03 and R3. For roads numbered A3, see A3 roads. For roads numbered M3, see M3 (disambiguation)#Roads, M3. For roads numbered N3, see N3 (disambiguation)#Roads, N3. For roads numbered 3A, see ...

State Route 62 * Georgia 91

State Route 91 * Georgia 133

State Route 133 * Georgia 234

State Route 234 * Georgia 300

State Route 300 * Georgia 520

State Route 520 * Georgia 520 Business

State Route 520 Business

Adjacent counties

* Lee County – north * Worth County – east * Mitchell County – south * Baker County – southwest * Calhoun County – west * Terrell County – northwest

Communities

City

* Albany

Unincorporated communities

* Acree * Doublegate * Pecan City *

Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...

* Radium Springs

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 85,790 people, 32,630 households, and 18,213 families residing in the county.

Education

Politics

Owing in part to its highly African American population, Dougherty County is heavily Democratic. In 2008 and 2012,

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

performed better in the county than any Democrat since Roosevelt in 1944. The county defied national trends in 2024 when it shifted to the left in favor of

Kamala Harris Kamala Devi Harris ( ; born October 20, 1964) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 49th vice president of the United States from 2021 to 2025 under President Joe Biden. She is the first female, first African American, and ...

, casting over 70% of its vote for her, outperforming Obama's previous record.

References

External links

Dougherty County official website

Official Downtown Albany website

New Georgia Encyclopedia

Dougherty County Courthouse history

Dougherty County
historical marker {{Coord, 31.54, -84.22, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-GA_source:UScensus1990 Georgia (U.S. state) counties 1853 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) Albany metropolitan area, Georgia Populated places established in 1853 Black Belt (U.S. region) Majority-minority counties in Georgia